I taught a course called Happiness at Wesley College every semester since 2013. I offered multiple sections every semester since 2017. In Fall 2019 I published a new book explaining what I teach in the course. It is available on Amazon: Tony Armstrong (author) Teaching a Happiness Class. The paperback is $5.99. It is free on Kindle Unlimited and $2.99 to buy the Kindle version.

The description: Happiness classes have proliferated in higher education over the past decade and a half. Such classes usually emphasize the findings of research on happiness and well-being. Tony Armstrong teaches these findings in his Happiness class as well and, like many, stresses mindfulness and meditation as means to be happier. But he goes deeper into the nature, sources and means of happiness than usual. He stresses the overriding importance of feelings as the experiential value, the experiential quality, of our lives. He therefore devotes most of the semester to exploring the attributes and sources of feelings. Armstrong says the practical meaning of empowering students’ pursuit of happiness is to make them aware of the means to feel better than otherwise from moment to moment and in the long term. The lecture/discussions and assignments described in the book are designed to guide them to the awareness, insights and practices best suited to achieve this. Armstrong’s explanations of the affective theory of value, the ego and ego gratification, and especially the nature of love are rather unique. The implications for which feelings are most worthwhile to pursue are profound. If you are simply curious about what a college happiness class might look like, this book is worth it. If you are looking for deep, practical insight into the pursuit of happiness, this book is even more worth reading.